There is a wide variety of industries and devices that could benefit from door anti-slamming devices. This is from a safety perspective to avoid injury from doors unexpectantly slamming, as well as comfort perspective and avoidance of damage to doors or the surrounding structures.
For example, shipping container doors are very heavy and large. At sea, or even at port, wind can catch a door and quickly cause it to slam against the container walls or entrance, even if a person or safety mechanism is intended to temporarily hold it in place. This may be particularly applicable during inspection of the containers during customs duty which often occurs at sea, or at the time of loading or unloading. If a person is inadvertently in the path of the door as it slams against a surface, the person could be severely injured.
The same applies to other situations, one being the common internal door in a house, or an exterior door. One can readily recall situations where a wind channel forms through a house (due to two external doors/windows being open) which can cause one of the doors to often violently slam shut, where the momentum of the door will build as it slams shut. The same applies to when children are playing with a door, and decide to slam the door without thinking of the potential consequences.
Primarily this is a safety concern as children (or adults, for that matter) may have a hand or fingers inside the door frame. This can lead to injury, or in severe cases broken bones or even complete amputation of finger(s).
Secondly, even if no one is near the door and therefore injury is not a concern, a slamming door can still cause damage to the door or door frame, especially if it happens many times or if there is an extreme force applied. A slamming door can also be a rather horrible noise to hear, and most people would want to avoid the situation where possible.
There are anti-door slamming devices already on the market but these can have a number of problems as outlined below.                Many devices can be overly big, cumbersome and/or unsightly due to their requirement to house large components or the need to be positioned in a particular area to achieve the desired function.        Many door anti-slamming devices which are configured to withstand more extreme forces being applied can also be overly expensive due to large componentry or systems.        Yet other smaller devices can be simply inadequate to handle more extreme forces. For example, devices which primarily rely on a biasing means such as a spring to slow a slamming door do not work well.        Many current devices can be overly complicated from a mechanical perspective, and be prone to damage or faulty parts.        Often the intended impact point of the device is disadvantageously configured to slow a very fast moving peripheral part of the pivoting door.        Many types of door anti-slamming devices can be frustrating to use as the systems employed can prevent a person from easily closing the door at a normal speed.        Many door anti-slamming devices are not able to be easily adjustable to suit the needs of the user, or changing conditions.        There is a need to provide simple, cost effective devices that can be used across a wide variety of industries primarily as a safety measure, and there is a particular need to address this in the shipping container industry, within households and in other applications such as vehicle doors or smaller objects such as tool box doors.        
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification, are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
Throughout this specification, the word “comprise”, or variations thereof such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.